Poaching Fish Is A
Healthy Cooking Method For Seafood

Poaching fish is one of the lightest and healthiest
ways to prepare seafood. It's excellent for large and oily fish, such
as salmon, pike, striped bass, and large trout. It's a cooking method
that calls for no additional fat to cook. And can be served hot or
cold.

Steaks, fillets, or whole fish of at least
1/2 inch thick is submerged in a flavored liquid and cooked. The liquid
can be either a court bouillon, water, milk,
juices, or a chicken, fish, or vegetable broth. Most of which, often
has wine and/or vinegar in it. Herbs, spices, and vegetables are
commonly added to it as well.

When poaching fish, you should never
allow the liquid to come to a boil. Place the fish in cold or
room temperature liquid, and then bring it to a gentle simmer. The
simmering will allow the herbs, vegetables, and wine to infuse the fish
with their flavors.

Fish Poaching Cookware

The best method of poaching fish is using a
fish poacher with a rack that can be raised and lowered. This helps to
keep fish from breaking apart when trying to remove it after it has
been cooked.

Roasting pans or deep skillets can be used
as well. Or anything you already have in your kitchen that you can make
use of. A rack with handles can be placed in the pan under the fish so
that it can be removed easily without falling apart when it's done
cooking. A couple of long spatulas will work. Or wrapping up the fish
in cheesecloth before cooking it will make it a little easier to
retrieve.

Fish Poaching Techniques

En Papillote

Another method of poaching fish is called en
papillote. En papillote is a french term used for cooking in
a paper case, such as parchment paper. This is a method of steaming
fish
or poaching fish and vegetables that is securely wrapped in parchment
paper. It can be cooked in simmering water or baked. The paper keeps in
the moisture and steam created from the fish's own juices as it cooks.

Oven Poaching

Oven poaching in heavy duty aluminum foil
is basically the same method as en papillote. It's a personal
preference on which is better for you. Foil is a little bit easier to
work with though. And it's more common to have aluminum foil in the
kitchen already at hand.

Steeping Fish

Steeping is another variation of poaching
fish. This is done by adding fish to a boiling liquid that is twice as
high as the thickest part of the fish.

Once the fish has been added, cover the pan and remove it from
the heat. Allow it to set for about 8-10 minutes as it will continue
cooking as the temperature drops down to about 165°-170°.

This method works best with fish steaks and fish fillets that are less
than 1½ inches thick, or for reheating already cooked fish.

Leftover Fish Poaching Liquid

You can use the remaining poaching liquid
as a base for a sauce. Boil it down to reduce it for the sauce, or use
it for a broth. You can freeze it if you want to save and reuse it for
your next batch. It becomes richer in taste with each time that it's
used. It's a good idea to add more onions and a little bit of wine to
freshen up the flavors and taste. The poaching liquid is extremely
valuable for chowders, soups or linguine.